


The Dragons Among Us

by StarSparkle2403



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dragons, Dragon Culture, Everyone has dragons, Except Tony, M/M, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Not Phases Two or Three Compliant, protective dragons
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-15
Updated: 2019-03-03
Packaged: 2019-04-23 10:28:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14330511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarSparkle2403/pseuds/StarSparkle2403
Summary: All the Avengers have dragons. Well, everyone except Tony.What would happen if a dragon suddenly claimed him?





	1. Yzzial

The raid was supposed to be routine. Just a normal, run of the mill attack on a HYDRA base.

Then they found out that it was a research facility.

“Iron Man, can you locate where they’re keeping the dragons?” Steve called out over the comms. Pyziedot flew over, dropping a HYDRA agent in front of him.

“I’ve got them,” Tony said, blasting through a wall of the compound and rocketing down the stairs. 

“Hey, Cap, you got incoming,” Clint said. Tony heard an explosion and then Clint yelling.

“Hawkeye, what happened?” Steve asked. “Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine,” Clint replied. “But Gaigheiss isn’t. They threw a grenade at him, the bastards.”

“Get to the quinjet and get him checked out. Falcon, cover him.”

“Got it,” Sam said.

Tony blasted through the door at the bottom of the stairs and scanned the room. “I’ve got heat signatures on twenty-seven dragons down here. I’ll probably need some help to get them all out.”

“On my way,” Natasha replied.

Tony stepped out of his suit and looked around the room. Cages of every size lined the walls, and in each of them was a dragon. He walked over to the nearest cage and unlocked it. The tiny bronze dragon that was inside crawled out into Tony’s hand.

“Hey there, little guy,” Tony murmured. “We’re going to get you all out of here, okay?” The dragon nuzzled his thumb, then disappeared into his sleeve.

Natasha entered the room behind him and the two went around opening cages. The bronze dragon stayed perched on Tony’s shoulder the whole time, which only served to darken Tony’s mood.

Everyone else had a dragon of their own, so why couldn’t he?

Zietu seemed to notice his mood and fluttered over from where she had been wound around Natasha’s neck. She settled on top of his head and nestled into his hair. _“Don’t worry,”_ she assured him. _“You’ll find them. I know you will.”_

“Thanks, Zi,” Tony said.

Steve and Bucky came up behind them just as Natasha unlocked the last cage. Pyziedot ambled over and wound around Tony’s legs as Chiepaer landed on his shoulder. Dragons had always seemed to like Tony, especially those that were bonded to his friends.

Tony heard Steve chuckle and say, “Dottie, please let Tony have his legs back. He needs to be able to walk.” Pyziedot just looked away from him and turned her attention to a door on the other side of the room. She walked over and sniffed the crack at the bottom of the door.

 _“There’s one in here,”_ she said. 

Natasha went to open the door, but a growl sounded from behind it, and she backed away slowly. “I don’t think it likes me,” she said. “One of you try.” Zietu flew over to her from on top of Tony’s head and wrapped herself around Natasha’s neck, her black scales blending into her human’s combat gear. All you could see were the red streaks on her wings and around her eyes.

Steve went over to the door and put a hand on Pyziedot’s head. He reached for the door knob, but before he could reach it, a deep voice growled, _“Don’t come any closer.”_

Pyziedot shook off Steve’s hand and went closer to the door. _“It’s okay,”_ she said quietly. _“No one’s going to hurt you.”_

 _“That’s not what I’m worried about,”_ the dragon replied.

Tony cocked his head. _“What the hell did they do to him?”_ he thought. He moved a bit closer to the door, not even noticing when Chiepaer jumped off his shoulder, silver scales shining.

“So, you don’t want to hurt us?” Steve asked gently. There was a rumble of agreement from the dragon, and Tony put his hand on Steve’s shoulder. When Steve turned to look at him, he motioned over to the Iron Man suit. The larger man’s eyes widened in understanding and he nodded.

“How about if we send in someone we know you can’t hurt?” Steve asked.

The was a pause before the dragon muttered, _“I’ll believe it when I see it.”_

Tony immediately went over and suited up again. As he went by, he gave a small device to Steve. “Here, you’ll be able to see what I see.” Steve nodded and Tony opened the door and walked into the darkened room. He closed the door behind him, then turned to the hulking shape in front of him.

Straps and chains held down the huge dragon and a kevlar hood made sure it couldn’t see anything. The dim light glinted off red and gold scales. “My god,” Bucky breathed. “It’s a king dragon.”

Tony slowly moved closer and said, “Hi, big guy. I’m just going to get you out of these okay?” The dragon grunted but didn’t protest when Tony began snapping chains and straps. Finally, Tony pulled off the hood. The dragon sighed in relief, then turned to look at Tony.

 _“Hello,”_ the dragon rumbled. He dipped his head, resting his snout on Tony’s helmet for a moment. _“Thank you for saving us.”_

“It was no problem,” Tony replied. “I’m Tony. What’s your name?”

 _“I am Yzzial.”_ The dragon sniffed around Tony, almost knocking him off his feet. _“You smell human, but also like metal. How is this possible?”_

“Like this,” Tony said, opening up the suit and stepping out, completely ignoring the others’ warnings to be careful. 

Yzzial sniffed him again, then in one swift move, Tony was pressed into his side with the dragon’s tail wrapped around him. 

_“Mine,”_ Yzzial said.


	2. Pumarryn and Pyziedot

The first thing Tony learned (after he got over the shock of having a freaking KING DRAGON claim him as his own) was that Yzzial was very, very, very protective. 

When Tony was able to get Yzzial to let go long enough for them to get out of the room, Steve came over, presumably to meet the new dragon, and Yzzial almost bit his head off. 

Literally.

Tony had to physically pull Yzzial away from where he had Steve pinned to the floor. Once he did, Pyziedot stalked over and cuffed the bigger dragon over the head. _“Do not attack my human ever again, or I will not hesitate to rip your wings off,”_ she threatened.

Yzzial cowered under the queen dragon’s gaze, his tail between his legs and head on the ground. _“I’m sorry,”_ he said quietly.

Pyziedot nuzzled his cheek and replied, _“It’s okay, just don’t do it again.”_ She went over and clambered up into Steve’s arms. _“Let’s go home.”_

 _“Home would be nice,”_ Chiepaer said, bounding toward the door, Bucky on his heels. _“I wanna check on Gaigheiss too.”_

“Come on,” Tony said, following the others. “You need to meet the others.”

 _“There are more people?”_ Yzzial asked nervously, curling his tail around Tony’s waist.

“Don’t worry,” Tony said, smiling softly. “They’re all really nice. Well, Clint and Bucky can be asses sometimes, but everyone else is awesome.”

They emerged into the sunlight and headed for the quinjet. Yzzial stuck close to Tony, looking around suspiciously. When they stepped up into the quinjet, a tiny orange flash shot toward them. It stopped in front of Yzzial, said “hi,” and latched itself onto the front of Tony’s shirt.

 _“Tony!”_ it squeaked. _“You have a dragon!”_

“Yeah, I guess I do,” Tony replied. Yzzial nudged the tiny orange dragon with his nose. “Yzzial, this is Pumarryn. Pumarryn, this is Yzzial.” Pumarryn let go of Tony’s shirt and climbed up onto Yzzial’s snout as Bruce came over to them.

“Ryn, please get off the poor dragon,” Bruce said quietly. Pumarryn jumped off Yzzial and shot toward his human. Bruce caught him with one hand and stroked his back with the other. “Sorry about that,” Bruce said to Yzzial. “He’s a bit excitable.”

 _“It’s alright,”_ Yzzial replied before following Tony over toward one of the seats. _“It’s a bit adorable, really.”_

Bruce just smiled and sat down next to Tony. “Are you okay?” Tony asked his friend, taking in how ragged he looked.

“Yeah. I’m just tired.” Bruce leaned his head against Tony’s shoulder, closing his eyes. Pumarryn curled up in his lap, tucking his tail under his nose. They both quickly fell asleep, and Tony turned his attention to Yzzial.

“So, why is Bruce okay when Steve isn’t?” he asked, one eyebrow raised.

The dragon shrugged and laid down next to him, placing his head in Tony’s lap. _“The blonde one came toward you with no warning. This one introduced himself first.”_

Tony shook his head at that, but started petting Yzzial’s snout anyway. Soon, the dragon was asleep, which left Tony to wonder how in the hell a KING DRAGON had decided to claim him.

With all that he had done in his life, he definitely didn’t deserve a treasure like this. King dragons chose those who were kind, caring even. Tony definitely didn’t classify as that. Blunt and crass was more like it.

 _“Stop worrying and go to sleep,”_ Yzzial muttered before drifting off again. Tony smiled down at him.

Maybe this wasn’t so bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so you know, most of the dragons are about the size of a cat. Pumarryn, Pyziedot, and Yzzial are the exceptions. Pumarryn is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, Pyziedot is the size of a large dog, and Yzzial is about the size of Toothless in How To Train Your Dragon.


	3. Gaigheiss and Chiepaer

There were many misconceptions about king dragons, one of them being that they were the strong, bold leaders of a family group. They are protectors, yes, but they are so much more than that. 

Queen dragons tend to be the ones that give the orders while the kings make sure everyone is healthy and safe. They’re also the warmest dragons because they like to curl up around the eggs and hatchlings. They are gentle creatures most of the time, and very affectionate as well.

That’s why Yzzial is perfect for Tony, even though Tony himself doesn’t see it.

\----------

Tony woke up just as they touched down at the tower. “What, no debriefing?” he asked groggily.

“Steve did some sweet talking and got us out of it,” Natasha said, gathering up her gear.

“How did he manage that?” Tony got up, prompting Yzzial to get up as well.

“I have no clue, but I’m glad he did,” Clint said as he walked past, carrying a sleeping Gaigheiss in his arms. The slender purple dragon was covered in bandages. Chiepaer was following close behind, nose nudging Gaigheiss’ trailing tail.

“Is the small, purple one okay?” Yzzial asked worriedly, staring after the three.

“Gaigheiss? I think he is,” Tony replied. “We can go check on him if you want.” Yzzial nodded vigorously and bounded off after the trio. 

Tony followed behind all the way to the common area where Clint was sitting on one of the couches, watching Chiepaer fuss over Gaigheiss. Bucky came up to the back of the couch and hopped over to sit next to Clint. 

Yzzial headed straight over to the other two dragons, leaving Tony to sit down on the loveseat. The three men watched as Yzzial sniffed Gaigheiss, who was curled up against Chiepaer. The silver dragon pulled Gaigheiss closer to him protectively and laid his head on Gaigheiss’. Yzzial rumbled comfortingly and nudged Chiepaer’s side tentatively.

Chiepaer eyed him before turning his head away. Yzzial took that as an invitation and laid down next to them, his tail wrapping around the other two dragons.

“Well,” Bucky said. “That’s new.”

“You’re telling me,” Clint said. Tony nodded in agreement.

Chiepaer had a history of snapping at anyone who came within two feet of Gaigheiss when the other dragon was hurt. It had started when the two had met and Chiepaer hadn’t even let Clint or Bucky come close. It wasn’t hard to see that the two were meant to be together. The fact that it had brought Bucky and Clint together was just an added bonus.

“They seem to be getting along,” Steve said, entering the room, Pyziedot on his heels. The queen dragon went over to the others and curled up next to them, her tail brushing Yzzial’s back. Steve stayed back, leaning against the wall.

There was a crack of lightning and a flash of light outside, and the floor vibrated slightly. Yzzial lifted his head and looked at Tony questioningly. “Don’t worry,” Tony assured him. “That’s just Thor.”

The first time Tony had met Thor, he was both surprised and relieved that the god didn’t have a dragon. Then he learned that Thor’s dragon was still in Asgard because it was made entirely of lightning. “Do not worry, Metal Man!” Thor had told him. “You will find your companion. You are not defective!”

That thought hadn’t even occurred to Tony before then. Thanks Thor.

Natasha, Bruce, Sam, and their respective dragons entered the room and the dragons jumped onto the pile on the floor. Bruce took up residence in his armchair, Natasha perched on the back of it, and Sam flopped onto the last couch. Steve tentatively sat down next to Tony, glancing at Yzzial every few seconds.

Just as everyone got settled, Thor came charging in. “Metal Man! You found your dragon!” He picked Tony up and gave him a giant hug.

Though Tony couldn’t breathe, he could hear Yzzial’s huffing laughs. _“That little traitor,”_ Tony thought to himself. 

When Thor finally put him down, Tony stumbled backward, aiming to land on the couch, but ended up in Steve’s lap instead. He felt his face immediately heat up, and when he looked back, Steve was bright red. Tony moved to get up, but Steve just snaked one arm around his waist to keep him in place.

Thor took no notice of what was going on behind him as he found a place on the floor to watch the dragons from. There was a childlike glee on his face that could warm even the coldest heart.

Everyone’s attention was on Thor, so Tony moved slightly to get more uncomfortable, then snuggled into Steve’s heat. Steve’s arm wrapped more firmly around Tony’s waist and Tony let out a contented sigh.

This thing between him and Steve was new, and they hadn’t talked about it yet, so Tony didn’t really know what to call it. Whatever it was, Tony liked it. He felt safe around Steve, and even more so when they were cuddled up like this.

At the beginning, there had been a lot of teasing from Clint and Bucky, but things had settled down now. No one seemed to mind their new relationship, and Tony was glad. He didn’t even know how he felt about it yet, so other people judging them was not something he wanted to deal with.

Yzzial looked over at the two men curiously. His human seemed to be enjoying the blond one’s company, but that didn’t do anything to stop his dislike of the man. He hadn’t introduced himself yet, which was the polite thing to do, and he had moved toward his human without permission.

The blond human would have to prove himself if he wanted to court Yzzial’s human.


	4. Pyziedot and Yzzial

Dragons had a very different way of judging people’s worth.

Politeness was a very big thing for them. They themselves may not always stick to the rules of polite company, but they expected others to.

Honor and bravery were other important traits to dragons. Once upon a time, dragons only bonded with the strongest warriors and they still took a liking to strong people.

Also, if someone wanted to date a dragon’s human, they needed to ask the dragon’s permission first. If the dragon said no, then that was it. No means no.

That causes a lot of problems, since a dragon has even higher standards for their human’s potential mates than for other people.

\----------

Yzzial had been observing Steve for the last few days, trying to determine what his human saw in him.

He still couldn’t figure it out.

Pyziedot was nice, though, and Steve treated her well, so that was a point in his favor.

 _“Stop being so hard on Steve, Yzzie,”_ Pyziedot told him as she curled up on the couch in Tony’s workshop. The two humans were looking at something on a screen across the room, leaving the dragons to their own devices. _“He’s a good human.”_

Yzzial huffed. _“I haven’t seen it.”_ He tried to climb onto the couch with Pyziedot, but didn’t fit, so he pushed her off. She glared at him and jumped on his back in retaliation. The two scuffled for a few seconds before settling down in a tangle of limbs.

“Those two seem to like each other,” Steve said, glancing over at the dragons.

“I’m glad,” Tony replied. He looked up at Steve. “This just means that I can keep you around longer.”

Steve grinned, and said, “You want me to keep me around?”

“Of course,” Tony replied, nudging him. “You’re good for lifting heavy things.”

“And opening jars?” Steve teased.

“Of course.”

Yzzial growled quietly. _“Has Steve still not asked you for permission?”_ Pyziedot asked.

 _“He hasn’t introduced himself either,”_ Yzzial grumbled.

 _“Really?”_ Pyziedot said, shocked. _“That’s the first thing he did with everyone else.”_

“You know, Yzzial doesn’t seem to like me that much,” Steve said offhandedly.

Tony grinned and replied, “What, did you forget to introduce yourself to him or something?”

“No, of course not,” Steve said. There was a pause before he realised. “I did. I forgot.”

“You what?” Tony asked, brown eyes wide.

Steve turned and dashed over to the dragons and knelt in front of them, bowing his head. “Yzzial, please forgive me for not introducing myself sooner. I am Steven Grant Rogers, a Captain in the United States Military and field commander of the Avengers. I ask you for permission to court your human, Anthony Edward Stark.”

Yzzial examined him for a few seconds before placing his snout on Steve’s head in acceptance. _“I guess you’re alright,”_ he said grudgingly. _“But you still need to prove you’re good enough for my human.”_

“Anything,” Steve promised. “I’ll do anything.”

Yzzial grinned in the way only dragons can. Sharp teeth gleamed as he said, _“I like the sound of that.”_


	5. Yzzial II

“I’m kind of scared.”

Tony looked up at Steve from his seat in the kitchen. “What, of Yzzial? He’s harmless.”

“Usually, you mean,” Steve replied, eyeing Yzzial warily. Yzzial glanced at him from his perch on the couch in the living room with a toothy smirk. “Did you see that?”

Tony shook his head. “Don’t worry about it, mon capitan. He won’t hurt you.”

“I’m not worried about him hurting me. I’m worried about me getting hurt and Yzzial thinking he’s to blame. That would crush him more than anything.”

\----------

Steve was right.

\----------

“Are you alright?” 

Yzzial lifted his head off the floor to look up at Tony. _“I think so,”_ he said quietly, dropping his head back down and staring at the door.

Tony sat down next to him and stroked his back. “How’s Steve?”

 _“I don’t know.”_ Yzzial’s eyes filled up with tears. _“They won’t tell me anything and Dottie is still unconscious, so she can’t talk.”_ He curled around Tony, needing to feel his human to avoid completely breaking down. _“Please tell me they’ll be okay.”_

“They’ll be fine,” Tony soothed. “They’re strong.”

A tear fell down Yzzial’s snout as he whispered, _“This is my fault.”_

“No, it’s not.”

 _“Yes, it is!”_ Yzzial hit the ground with his tail for emphasis. _“If I had done a better job tearing those robots apart, Steve never would have jumped in front of me to get the one I missed and left Dottie alone to deal with the other one!”_

“Hey, look at me,” Tony said sternly. Yzzial lifted his head but refused to meet his eyes. “Do you know what Steve is going to say when he wakes up?” Yzzial shook his head. “He’s going to apologise to you for not getting there quick enough to stop that.” Tony pointed to the thick bandage wrapped around Yzzial’s tail.

_“Really? Why would he do that? He saved me.”_

“Steve has always beaten himself up if anyone gets hurt even a little bit when he was close enough to protect them,” Tony said, tracing a scale on Yzzial’s snout. “And he’s definitely not going to be happy that you’re laying on the floor in front of his hospital room door instead of panicking on that couch over there with me.”

Yzzial’s chuffing laugh was the first thing Steve heard when he woke up.


	6. Yzzial III

Yzzial hadn’t left Steve’s side since he had woken up.

Actually, he wasn’t really by Steve’s side. He was more on top of Steve to prevent him from moving.

 _“Don’t do that again,”_ he told Steve.

“I can’t make any promises,” Steve chuckled. He felt a bit guilty for making him worry, but he was over the moon that Yzzial wanted to be near him. “I won’t be able to stand by if anyone on the team is about to get hurt. Especially not you or Tony.”

Yzzial shifted so that his head was squarely on Steve’s chest. _“No,”_ he said stubbornly, staring at Steve.

“You can’t control everything that happens, Yzzie,” Tony said from the other side of the room. Pyziedot nodded before getting more comfortable in Tony’s lap.

_“I can try.”_

Steve chuckled and rubbed Yzzial’s snout. “I appreciate the sentiment,” he said.

Pyziedot huffed. _“Of course you do. You’ve said that same phrase many times.”_

 _“He has?”_ Yzzial asked curiously.

_“Oh, yeah. A lot.”_

“I have not!” Steve protested.

_“Yes, you have.”_

Tony stroked Pyziedot’s back as he watched the two argue, a small smile on his face. 

\----------

Steve woke up when the door to his bedroom was pushed open. He started to sit up, but stopped when he saw the glint of red and gold scales. 

“Yzzial? What are you doing?”

 _“I want to stay with you.”_ Yzzial hopped up into the bed and layed next to him. _“Dottie is still asleep on Tony.”_

Steve shifted to rest his head on Yzzial’s neck. “I was wondering where she was.”

There was a small pause in which the two got comfortable. Once they were settled, Yzzial quietly asked, _“Are you really okay?”_

“I’m a bit sore, but I’ll be all healed up by the morning,” Steve assured him.

 _“I’m sorry,”_ Yzzial said quietly.

“For what?” Steve asked incredulously.

Yzzial looked away. _“For not protecting you.”_

“You’re not forgiven.”

 _“What?”_ Yzzzial asked in alarm, head whipping back around to look at him. _“Why not?”_

“You’re not forgiven, because there’s nothing to be sorry for.” Steve smiled up at him. “I chose to save you. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Yzzial’s eyes filled with tears. _“Thank you,”_ he said quietly before curling around Steve.

Just before he dropped off to sleep, Steve said, “I would save you again. Anytime.”


End file.
